Jerry Young, professor of animal science, recently received a Distinguished Achievement Award from the Berry College Alumni Association.

“I was obviously very delighted to receive [the award],” Young said. “I think it is a reflection of the opportunity that ISU has given me.”

Young has been at Iowa State for 33 years. He graduated from Berry in 1957 and earned his master’s and doctorate degrees from North Carolina State University in 1959 and 1963, respectively.

Young teaches animal science classes covering fundamentals of nutrition and advanced nutrition.

“The thing I am most pleased with, that gives me the greatest satisfaction, is the fact that 10 of my former students are in tenured or tenure-track positions at land-grant universities,” Young said.

“It’s been a real pleasure and honor to be associated with such bright students,” he said.

Young said during his years at Berry, it was a small, independent college of about 600-700 students.

“[Berry] was originally started as a work-your-way-through or self-help college,” Young said. “The average student worked two days a week on campus, which covered room and board. We had the option of also working full time over the summer to cover tuition,” he said.

Young said Berry has changed, but that the college still has a strong work-study program.

Donald Beitz, distinguished professor of animal science, wrote a letter to the Berry alumni awards committee praising Young’s work.

“Dr. Young is an excellent example of a successful scientist who maintains the highest of personal standards of ethics and morality. He freely shares ideas, is unusually humble, and is an excellent coordinator of a research team,” Beitz wrote.

Young said his current research deals with carbohydrate and energy metabolism in dairy cows. He has found evidence that glucagon can cure or prevent fatty liver disease in cattle.